Valve Seats & Machining Guide
Engine cooling doesn’t only happen at at the radiator. The valves (particularly the exhaust valves) take a lot of heat from the combustion chamber and the valve seats have the responsibility of helping to cool them off. The seats draw heat away from the valves and conduct it into the cylinder head, providing most of
Give Yourself A Lift
I thought it was time to supply a new photo for these articles. Yes, I have become a little older and maybe a little wiser but you can make your own decision about that. According to my wife I’m just older. So anyway the updated photo was way past due. This month I am going
Fueling the Future – Can You Fill Up with Alternative Fuels?
Currently gas prices have stabilized at around $1.83 a gallon, a price at which most Americans feel comfortable driving their SUVs, trucks, race cars, tow vehicles and other motorized toys. But when gas hits $4 and $5 a gallon, driving guzzlers becomes a challenge for many. It was only a few months ago that a
Alcohol: It
Article by Norm Brandes and Keith McCord Ethanol, or moonshine whiskey has been used as either fuel or liquor since the mid-15th century. The very first patented internal combustion engine was invented by Samuel Morey back in 1826 and ran on a mixture of ethanol, alcohol and turpentine. Fast forward to 1861 where German inventor
Valve Seat Technology For Stock and Performance Applications
Valve seats are a critical engine component because they are the foundation of the valvetrain. The seats provide a surface for the valves to seal against when they close so there’s no loss of compression or pressure from the combustion chamber. The seats also help cool the valves by conducting heat away from valves into
Hey, It
Wherever two or more shall gather… Somebody is bound to be too hot or too cold! It seems to be a fact of life, people can never agree about the temperature inside. This one says it’s too hot, while that one says it’s too cold. One thing we can all agree on is that we
Engintel: Does Hydrogen Offer Green Energy Opportunities to Keep IC Engine Alive?
At this time of the year, Iowa has the eye of the entire nation. Presidential candidates, their staff and reporters are popping up around the state in numbers that rival the cornstalks standing proudly along every road. With all this political activity, there is no doubt that "Green Energy" is going to be an accelerating
Green Energy Opportunities to Keep the Internal Combustion Engine Alive and Well!
It is August 2007 and Iowa has the eye of the entire nation. Presidential candidates, their staff and reporters are popping up around the state in numbers that rival the cornstalks standing proudly along every road. With all this political activity, there is no doubt that “Green Energy” is going to be an accelerating trend,
Green Energy Opportunities to Keep the Internal Combustion Engine Alive and Well!
It is August 2007 and Iowa has the eye of the entire nation. Presidential candidates, their staff and reporters are popping up around the state in numbers that rival the cornstalks standing proudly along every road. With all this political activity, there is no doubt that “Green Energy” is going to be an accelerating trend,
Engine Sealing: High Performance Head Gaskets
One thing no engine builder wants to worry about is a head gasket failure, whether it is a NASCAR cup engine, a Pro Stock drag racing engine, a dirt track engine, a hot street engine or even a stock engine. Stock head gaskets hold up well enough under normal loads. But as compression ratios and
Mid-Range Diesel & Gas Industrial Engines
Engine builders involved in the industrial market say parts generally don’t cross over even though they may resemble their automotive counterparts. And shops that specialize in this market typically don’t build automotive engines. But don’t discount the opportunities these engines present, even if you don’t consider yourself an industrial expert. The builds are about the
All About The Alloys – Valve Seat Selection For High Performance Applications
We can’t make any sweeping generalizations about what kind of seats work best in a performance engine application because “performance” covers a lot of territory, everything from hot street engines with stainless steel valves to top fuel drag racing and NASCAR engines with titanium valves. Seat requirements vary depending on the application, what kind of
The Angle On Valve Seats
Valve seats seem to be a fairly simple engine component but they play a critical role in sealing compression and cooling the valves. When a seat becomes worn, it may leak compression and allow the valve to run hotter than normal. The same thing can happen if the seat is out-of-round or has lost its
Valve Seat Installation Procedures
If a valve seat is damaged, cracked, loose, receded or too badly worn to be recut or reground, it can cause a variety of problems: loss of compression, valve burning, valve failure, valvetrain wear and breakage, even head and valve damage if the seat comes loose. For that reason, replacing valve seats is often necessary
LPG Conversions: Renewed Interest In The Use Of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) And LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas)
The recent move to clean up inner city exhaustemissions has resulted in renewed interest in the use of LPG (LiquefiedPetroleum Gas) and LNG (Liquefied Natural gas) as motor fuels.These fuels are almost pure propane with a little butane present. Tax incentives are being offered to encouragefleet operators to convert to gaseous fuels and more vehiclesare
Cleaning With Jet Spray Washers: Replacing Solvent Cleaning Processes With Aqueous Cleaning.
As more environmental regulations phase outmany chlorinated solvents and ozone depleting chemicals, manyautomotive machine shops and engine rebuilding operations arereplacing their solvent cleaning processes with aqueous cleaning.Some argue that while replacement chemicals have been found, theirtotal safety and part cleaning applicability has not been researchedenough. According to many rebuilders and equipment makers, developmentsin aqueous cleaning
Forklifts
Engine rebuilders often classify themselves as an automotive (car and light truck), and/or medium duty/heavy-duty diesel or industrial rebuilder, and usually primarily stay in one market or the other. Some cross the line and do business in both markets, but most tend to stay in familiar territory where they’re comfortable. Yet rebuilding forklift engines is